Aeroplane.



L. J. BBRGDOLL.

ABROPLANB.

ATION FILED NOV.1912.

APILIU Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

ann STATES rig-Eur OFFICE.

LOUIS J. BEIRG-DKIIIJ F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AEROPLANE.

Be itknown that I, LOUIS J. BERGDOLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the ollowing 1s a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The aeroplane provided by this invention .-is so constructed that it has inherent stability laterally; has inherent stability vertically, that is, fore and'aft; it automatically banks in negotiatingwa turn or curve, this being effected by centrifugal force on center of weight or gravity; its steady in gusty winds, as it constitutes a self-contained and single ,unit' that can be actuated only as a whole and not in sections by uneven air currents; it is rigid, having no warping or twisting parts; it has no outrigging or other projections; andit can fall only head-on when stalled, whereby the rudders are kept acting and a glide made certain.

The foregoing characteristics are imparted'to an aeroplane by the embodiment herein of a circular or curved plane that surrounds, among other parts, the substantially horizontal sustention-planes common in machines of this type, in order that there may be presented to the air an equal resist- .ance in all transverse directions and all lateral air or wind kept away from the sustention-planes. By the use of the circular or curved plane it is practicable to place the propelling-engine and other weights carried by the sustentionlanes, and thereby the center of gravity 0. the machine, below the sustention-planes, instead of at a point coincident with at least one of them as now is advisable in order to prevent rocking or pendulum action, as the circular or curved plane will prevent such air, action on the sustention-planes as would accentuate pendulum action and as the sustention-planes are left free of themselves to retard such motion. The center of gravity being below and arrangement of parts, as exemplifying Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 25, 1912. Serial No. 733,50-

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

the principles involved in the invention, will be apparent from the accompanying drawing, formin part hereof, wherein an embodiment o the invention, as applied to a biplane, is disclosed, for purposes ofillustration. i i

Vhile the embodiment of .the invention shown in the drawing now is preferred, it is to be understood that it is not the intention to be limited necessarily to the precise delineation herein in interpretation of claims hereinafter, as it is obvious that certain changes in the structure shown can be made withln the limits prescribed by the claims without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention, and that the invention is applicable as well to monoplanes and to aeroplanes having other numbers of sustention-planes than shown by the drawing.

Like reference-elmracters refer to corre sponding parts in the views of the drawing, of which Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 is an end view; and Fig.3 is a side view.

.Referring more particularly to the drawings, 4c designates austention-planes of any desired standard formation, with which are associated a tail 5 including guiding devices of usual form. For the purposes enumerated in the foregoing, I surround the sustention planes of an aeroplane with a hollow cylindrical or tubular member 6, which is open at its front and rear ends, and which has its axial line midway between the side ends of the sustention-planes and parallel, or substantially parallel, to the line of flight. The sustention-planes intersect the cylinder substantially horizontally, and

their sides or lateral ends terminate at and are connected to the cylinder at its interior periphery. The cylinder 6 preferably is circular in cross-section, although it may be made with an ellipse or some other closed curve than a circle as the directrix, provided there is formed a regular curved plane so called that will be devoid of such uneven surfaces as will offer uneven resistance to air-currents. The cylinder is at least as wide as the width or fore and aft dimension of the sustcntion-planes, so that it will laterally entirely comprehend those planes, which extend from one side to the other of the interior periphery of and terminate in the cylinder. In case of a machine having multiple sustention-planes, these planes preferably any direction transverse to the line of flight,

' scend, the sustention-planes being placed at are disposed in secant lines with respect to the cylinder and above and below the diameter thereof, shown in the drawing, but one of them may be disposed in a diametrical or focal line; and, in case of a monoplane, the sustention-plane may be disposed either in a secant or in a diametrical or focal line It thus will be seen that the circular or curved plane constitutes a hollow cylinder that incloses the snstention' planes laterally andabove and below and protects them from the disadvantageous influences of air-currents or winds actingin and that the curve thereof is continuous and such as will not oilerruneven resistance to the atmosphere.

The cylindrical or tubular member is made of comparatively thin material, such as that commonly employed in the manufacture of the planes of air craft, and it is structurally associated with other parts of the machine in anysuitable manner. It is rigidly connected with the sustentionplanes in such manner that the cylindrical member and the sustention-planes have no relative movement, but form an integral combination consisting of sustention and protection elements. I The member 6 being cylindrical, when the machine is in flight, it ofiers no other resistance to the atmosphere in a fore and aft direction than front edge resistance and resistance that may be incident to the tilting of the machine under the influence of the tail to cause the machine to ascend or dea sufficient fore and aftangle to the axial line of the cylinder to maintain the machine at uniform elevation at normal speed with out tilting.

The machine is propelled by any suitable motor 7 transmitting motionby belts, chains, or other transmission elements 8 to one or more propellers 9, the propellers being placed behind the sufstention-planes in such manner that they will be in a line coincident With the center line of the resistance imposednpon the machine in forward movement during flight.

The motor, eperators and passengers seats 10, and the like'are placed below the sustention-planes, so that the center of gravity is below those planes and the stability of the machine thereby enhanced, and these parts also are positioned within the cylindrical protecting member, so that they, as well as the snstention-planes, are protected from the adverse laterally-acting influences mentioned in the foregoing".

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

it. An aeroplane comprising a sustentionplane, a continuous y-enrved openended member surrounding said plane, and a propelling-motor below said. plane and within said member.

In an aeroplane, the combination of a propeller, guiding means, a- SlIStQl'IlIlOII-zPlftllQ, a hollow continuously-curved open-ended protective member surrounding said plane laterally, and a propelling-motor connected with said propeller and positioned Within said member and below said plane.

3. In an aeroplane, the combination of a propeller, guiding means, a hollow cylindrical. open-ended member, therein a sustention-plane having angular disposition with respect to the axial line of said member, and a propelling-motor connected with said propeller and positioned within said member and below said plane.

4t. An aeroplane comprising the combina tion of a sustention-plane, a continuously curved open ended member surrounding said plane, a propelling-motor within said member, and below said plane and Within said member a seat for a person carried by the aeroplane. n

In testimony whereof I afliX-mysignatnre in presence of two witnesses.

LGUIS J. BERGDOLL. Witnesses Jenn Nani: THIssELL,

HARRY C. KoHLHAs, Jr, 

